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Watershed Revegetation Program

Natural Areas Restoration and Management

This project began in 1995 in the Columbia Slough watershed and today is active in all Portland watersheds. The Reveg team works on restoration projects with other City of Portland bureaus and many public and private groups. The restoration work improves water quality, controls erosion, reduces stormwater pollution, and enhances fish and wildlife habitat.

Recent Projects

In fall 2011, the Revegetation team began treating English ivy and removing English holly and laurel in the 146-acre River View Natural Area in southwest Portland. The forested site has several spring-fed streams that contribute clean, cold water to the Willamette River.

In summer 2010, the team removed two culverts and four constructed rock waterfalls that blocked fish passage on Veterans Creek, a Johnson Creek tributary. The work included reconstructing the stream channel with boulders and logs, creating riffles and pools, adding off-channel backwater areas for high-flow refuge, and revegetating streambanks.

The team works with the Portland Water Bureau and Portland Parks & Recreation to restore habitat at Powell Butte Nature Park. The Revegetation team has removed over 150 acres of invasive English hawthorn and Himalayan blackberry, and planted over 27,000 native trees and shrubs on 95 acres.

Since 2000, the team has restored segments of the Willamette Bluffs to improve plant diversity and wildlife habitat, reduce invasive vegetation and prevent wildfire hazards. In north Portland, there is work between the University of Portland and between North Interstate and Greeley avenues on slopes as steep as 180 vertical feet. In southeast Portland, the Revegetation team is working on restoration between the Ross Island and Sellwood bridges, including the Oaks Bottom Bluff and the river bank.

Seed Bank

Throughout Portland, English ivy and other invasive species have compromised native understory plants. The Revegetation team works with regional partners and private contractors to collect and grow native groundcovers (e.g., fringecup, Pacific waterleaf, large-leaf avens) that aren’t commercially available to produce seeds and create a sustainable regional native seed source.

Stormwater Management Facilities Program

This team designs, plants, inspects, and maintains stormwater management facilities, which include stormwater ponds and green streets. In 2011, the Revegetation program team designed and constructed the Willamette Park Swale to capture and treat stormwater runoff from the parking lot adjacent to the river. The team also provides long-term maintenance for about 900 green streets in Portland, and that number is growing all the time. The Stormwater Management Facilities team helps the public understand green street benefits and how green streets work.